Matthew 8:1-17

The Miracle-Working Christ

Matthew 8:1

INTRODUCTORY WORDS

1. On the mountain top. The mountain tops in the Bible stand forth in bold review. They represent Heavenly experiences, fellowship with God, and stand for visions of the things to come.

(1) We read in Deuteronomy these words: "And Moses went up * * to the top of Pisgah, * * and the Lord shewed him all the land." It was above the miasma of the swamp and the valley that Moses ascended. What a wonderful view was his!

From Nebo's mountain top, old Pisgah's height,

The landscape lay below,

The sun-kissed, promised land, ablaze with light,

And bathed in beauty's glow.

May we, from Pisgah's height, above the maze

And mists of valley-strife,

With open face, transfigured, fix our gaze

Upon the Lord of Life,

And see in Him our life made ripe with grain,

And tree, and fern, and flower:

A fruitful life, enriched with dew and rain,

And clothed with Heav'nly power.

Moses' vision also stands for a prophetic insight to the Scriptures. John, from the Isle of Patmos, was caught up into the heavens and it was there that God showed him the things which must be hereafter.

The Apostle Paul was caught up into the third Heaven, and there he saw unspeakable things which the tongue could not utter. May God grant us the privilege of mountain-top visions of the things to come.

(2) We read in the Gospels how Christ "Went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." Here is a second mountain-top experience. It stands for separation from the busy marts of life, on the one hand; and for contact with God, on the other hand. We need just such an experience frequently in our own lives. Prayer changes things.

2. The vale below. When Christ was transfigured on the mountain, Peter, James, and John were with Him. From the mountain top they descended to the valley. There they found a man with a child possessed with a demon. The man complained to Christ: "I besought Thy disciples to cast him out; and they could not." Then the Lord rebuked the unclean spirit, healed the child, and delivered him to his father. The Lord could have stayed on the mountain top, but He came down to the place of need, and of suffering.

It is all right for Christians to delight in mountain-top experiences, but they, too, must not always dwell in the heights with God. They must come down to scatter their blessings among the needy multitudes.

Why should we see God and walk with God, if it is not with the thought of bringing Him to the masses?

While we may find Christ on the mountain top, we may also find Him ministering in the vale below. If we would walk in His steps we too will serve the people.

Let us remember that our Lord came down from Heaven, the mountain top of glory. He came down to go about doing good; He came to die outside the camp. Let us have the mind which was in Christ, in us. Let us seek to serve among the populace.

I. THE HEALING OF THE LEPER (Matthew 8:1)

1. The leper represents the sinner in his uncleanness. Leprosy appeared upon the skin as a white, pinkish spot. When it was seen it spoke horror to its victim. It began to tell him he was possessed of an incurable and loathsome disease. The leprosy would slowly, but surely spread until the whole man seemed covered with putrefying sores. Sin is similar to all this. It, also, is deep seated in the heart. It is a disease incurable by men.

2. The leper can worship God. One would scarcely think that God would permit such a one to fall down and worship Him; but God did permit this leper to come, in his needy and stricken condition, unto Him.

We know that God is holy, and cannot receive into Heaven the unholy. Jesus Christ is standing this moment, as it were, with outstretched hands and is saying to every leprous, undone sinner, "Come unto Me, * * and I will give you rest."

Have you not read of the call of our God, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved"? Christ came to cleanse the leper, to save the sinner.

3. The quest of the leper, who came to worship Him. The leper said: "Lord, if Thou wilt, Thou canst make me clean."

Here was a prayer of faith. He knew that the Lord had power and authority to cleanse him. He knew that if He would, He could make him clean.

To every unsaved man, we wish to say, first, the Lord can, and secondly, the Lord will save, when there is a. cry of faith from a trusting soul.

He cannot do ought but respond to the prayer of faith. Has He not said, "Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out"? Again, has He not said, "According to your faith be it unto you"? Thus it was that the leper was made whole.

II. THE TOUCH OF THE MASTER'S HAND (Matthew 8:3)

1. The Lord touched him. A hurried reading does not impress one, but when we stop to consider, we see how marvelous was the touch of the Lord. First of all, it acclaimed Jesus Christ as impervious to contamination. He could touch a leper, without becoming leprous. He could sit with the publicans and sinners and teach them the things of God, without becoming sinful. The Lord Jesus was not only the holy One and the sinless One, but He was the impeccable One. The only time He ever felt the terrific touch of sin, was when, upon Calvary, He was made sin for us.

The touch of the Lord Jesus also showed forth a sympathetic Christ. He did not stand aloof from the leper. He carried no "holier than thou" spirit. He did carry a spirit of deep concern, of pity, and of tenderest love toward the needy.

Have we not felt the touch of His hand? And when He touched us, were we not comforted and cheered?

"Oh the touch of His hand on mine,

The touch of His hand on mine,

There is grace and power,

In the trying hour,

By the touch of His hand on mine."

2. The Lord spake to him. How marvelous were His Words, "I will; be thou clean." How assuring. There is in the words of our Lord a certainty that dispels doubt. It is in this sense that He spake as none other spake. He could say to the leper, "I will; be thou clean," and the leper became clean. He could say to the wild waves, "Be still," and the waves were hushed. He could say to Lazarus, "Come forth," and he who was dead came forth. Our Lord still speaks with authority.

3. The leprosy was immediately cleansed. There was no delay in the application of healing. The Lord can work by stages, but it is not necessary for Him so to work. In the matter of salvation, it is an immediate healing. A sinner may enter the church house buried in iniquity. He may receive mercy by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. The passage from death into life is an instantaneous passage. Weeks of weeping and of wailing at some altar bench will not help, but at the end of all, faith, living faith in our Lord Jesus Christ will do the work. We are saved by faith.

III. A CENTURION'S FAITH (Matthew 8:5)

1. A great man beseeching the Saviour. The centurion was a great man because he was a man of authority and of power. He could say to one of his soldiers, "Go," and he immediately went; or "Come," and he came; or "Do this," and he did it. Such a one came and prostrated himself before the Lord. Such a one besought Him.

It is not only the publican, but also the Pharisee who should beat upon his breast, and cry for mercy. It is not only the Mary of Magdala, possessed with demons, who should weep upon the Master's feet as she worshiped Him; but it is also the Mary of Bethany, the possessor of precious nard, and a woman of culture.

Whether it be Nicodemus, the teacher in Israel, or whether it be the demoniac wandering in the tombs, their place is alike at the feet of the Master.

2. A great man caring for his servants. The centurion said to Christ: "Lord, my servant lieth at home sick of the palsy, grievously tormented." Here was a great one interested in a lowly one; a master caring for a servant. There is something about this that appeals to us, and we believe it appealed to the Lord. The truly great bear the spirit of the Lord and Master, when they stoop down to lift up the fallen.

3. A great man with a great vision of faith. Christ said to the man: "I will come and heal him." The centurion answered and said, "Lord, I am not worthy that Thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed."

The centurion recognized that the One before whom he stood, and to whom he made his plea was a Man of authority as well as he himself. He saw, however, a difference. His own authority lay in the line of a centurionship.

The authority of the Master covered every realm, even the realm of sickness and of death. Thus the centurion urged the Lord saying, "Speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed."

Weigh well the meaning a word only. Jesus Christ is the Word, and His Word is spirit and life.

IV. THE MARVELING OF THE MASTER (Matthew 8:10)

1. Jesus marveled. We marvel that He marveled. He did not marvel at the buildings of the Temple. Of them He said: "See ye not all these things? verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down."

The Lord did not marvel at the learning and the lore of the scribes and of the Pharisees. To them, with all of their wisdom, He had nothing but words of rebuke. He belittled the phylacteries which they made so broad, and the borders of the garments which they made so large. He decried their love of the uppermost rooms at the feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogue.

The Lord marveled at nothing, save the faith of the centurion, an alien who believed with an indescribable faith.

Is it not written, "Without faith it is impossible to please Him"? What was it in Abel, and Enoch, and Noah, and Abraham, and the rest that pleased God? It was their faith. Unto this hour unbelief is black with the frown of God, but faith lightens His countenance. The Lord Jesus looks for faith and confidence, unwavering and unshaken, in the midst of a world filled with skepticisms and with doubt. May we give Him such a faith.

2. Jesus contrasted the unbelief of His own people, Israel, with the faith of an alien. He said: "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." Today we feel that the English-speaking race is the specialty of God; and it is true, indeed, that to them has been given unparalleled light and privileges; while from them has sounded forth the message of salvation to the ends of the earth. However, of this we are certainly aware, that among the so-called heathen of earth there is oftentimes manifested a faith in Christ, and a confidence, which is far beyond that of our own so-called Christian lands.

For this cause Christ said: "Many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the Kingdom of Heaven. But the children of the Kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth."

V. ACCORDING TO YOUR FAITH BE IT UNTO YOU (Matthew 8:13)

Here are some very refreshing words: "And Jesus said unto the centurion, Go thy way; and as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee."

1. Our Lord teaches that our faith circumscribes our blessings, that is, we receive accordingly as we believe. This statement is true not only of the centurion, but of us. There is a passage in the Book of James which says: "But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive any thing of the Lord."

Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. Whatsoever is of faith is reckoned unto us as righteousness. It is written of Abraham: "For what saith the Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness."

What we need, today, is a quickening of our faith through the study of the Word, and a knowledge of the greatness of God. We must believe not only that God is, and that He possesses unlimited power, but also that God is the Rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

2. Our Lord showed how the centurion believed that which he did not see. He simply told him to go his way. Had the centurion lingered, as much as to say, "I want some demonstration, some proof that my servant is healed," his servant had not been healed. The centurion had a faith similar to Abraham's, when he went out not seeing the place to which he went.

Quickly, the soldier started homeward, and the first step he took toward home was the selfsame moment in which his servant was healed.

How wonderful are the accomplishments of faith! Faith in the Living God has wrought righteousness, obtained promises, subdued kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire. May we walk in that sacred pathway!

VI. THE HEALING OF PETER'S WIFE'S MOTHER (Matthew 8:14)

1. Sickness may even enter the house of a favorite disciple. Peter was one of the special three. He, along with James and John, had many privileges not accorded to the other nine. The fact, however, that Peter was one of the valiant servants of his Lord did not keep his wife's mother from being sick.

We feel assured that since Peter, during three years and a half, was traveling with his Lord, that his wife was dwelling in her mother's home. It was natural for Peter to return to that home; and for Jesus, and the other disciples, to enter with him.

When they arrived, on this occasion, the mother lay sick of a fever.

2. Does Jesus dwell in your home? It is blessed to have the Lord of life, and light, and health, visiting with you. It is blessed when all is well; it is thrice blessed when some are sick. We delight in the motto which we have seen in many a home:

"Christ is the Head of this house,

The Unseen Guest at every meal,

The Silent Listener to every conversation."

If Christ is indeed with us, let us welcome Him, recognize Him, and give attention to His Words.

3. The touch of the Divine hand. The Lord Jesus who touched the leper, now touched the hand of Peter's wife's mother. That touch again carried blessing, and the fever left her.

Let us not relegate the touch of Christ's hand to the leper, or to this precious mother, or even alone to the days of Christ's earthly sojourn. Why should we not feel the same precious touch upon our hand, or upon our fevered brow? Christ is still: "The Lord that healeth thee," to those who put their faith in Him.

4. Healing is for service. We read: "And she arose, and ministered unto them." The Lord does not heal merely that we may feel better. He heals us in order that we may carry on for Him. There are words to be spoken, there are deeds to be done. Let us, therefore, when we pray for healing, pray, with the promise to God that we will use every energy of our renewed strength for Him.

VII. WHEREIN THE SCRIPTURES WERE FULFILLED (Matthew 8:16)

1. The end of a busy day. You, who have followed the study throughout, have discovered how many had been blessed by the Lord during this, one of the busiest days of healing and teaching in the ministry of our Lord. He, perhaps, after He had eaten at the home of Peter's mother-in-law, may have desired rest. The populace, however, would not let Him rest.

Our verse says: "When the even was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His Word, and healed all that were sick."

We like the expression: "They brought unto Him." This reminds us of the time when Christ was preaching in a certain home, and four men brought the man sick of the palsy and let him down through the roof. We should all of us join in bringing people to the Lord Jesus Christ.

What a wonderful ministry bringing people to Jesus!

2. The fulfillment of the Prophet's words. Matthew 8:16 say: "[He] healed all that were sick: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the Prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses."

(1) Wherein did these words have their fulfillment? The answer is simple. They were fulfilled in the healing that took place, as Jesus tarried in the home of Peter's wife's mother.

(2) When were the words of the Prophet Isaiah, as recorded in the 53d chapter, fulfilled? They were fulfilled that day, in the home of Peter's wife's mother. Let us then not relegate them to another day, even the day of the crucifixion of Christ.

(3) Did Isaiah's words not link these and all of Christ's healing to the Cross of Christ? For our part we believe that all of the healings, the casting out of demons, were accomplished by virtue of the Calvary work of Christ. We do not believe that these healings were in the atonement, the same as sin is in the atonement. They were in the atonement the same as the physical earth was in the atonement. We do not get our new bodies now.

AN ILLUSTRATION

The great reason for the miracles of the Bible seems to have been this: that men should recognize that there was offered to them in God a power for the blessing of their lives wholly beyond all the natural powers of man and of the physical universe. This freely offered and undeserved blessing of God centered and culminated in God's gift of His Son, Jesus Christ; and the miracles of the Bible are more numerous during and soon after Christ's life on earth than at any other time. Moreover, it is significant that all through the centuries those who have found and manifested a supernatural life through receiving Jesus Christ as Saviour have believed in the miracles of the Bible. The lesser miracles of the physical universe: a supernatural freedom from the power of sin, given to and sustained in them by Jesus Christ as their new life from God. To them, therefore, it is unreasonable to accept the greatest miracle, revealed in the Book, and doubt the lesser ones there recorded. And they rejoice that the lesser miracles paved the way to the working of the greatest one. Sunday School Times.